Vehicular control system with steering adjustment

ABSTRACT

A vehicular control system includes a forward viewing camera having a field of view forward of the vehicle. A control includes an image processor operable to process image data captured by the camera to determine road curvature of a curved section of a road being traveled by the vehicle. Based on the determined road curvature, the control determines tangents to the determined road curvature along the curved section of the road. The control steers the equipped vehicle along the curved section of the road by adjusting steering of the vehicle to follow the determined tangents to the determined road curvature as the vehicle moves along the curved section of the road.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/344,859, filed Nov. 7, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,202,147,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/675,928,filed Apr. 1, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,287,235, which claims the filingbenefits of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/977,929, filed Apr.10, 2014, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a vehicle vision system for avehicle and, more particularly, to a vehicle vision system that utilizesone or more cameras at a vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Use of imaging sensors in vehicle imaging systems is common and known.Examples of such known systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,949,331; 5,670,935 and/or 5,550,677, which are hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a vision system or imaging system for avehicle that utilizes one or more cameras (preferably one or more CMOScameras) to capture image data representative of images exterior of thevehicle, and provides an adaptive steering or wheel angle correction toguide or maintain the vehicle within its lane boundaries as the vehicleis driven along a road.

The vision system or control system of the present invention uses asensor disposed at a vehicle and having a field of view exterior of thevehicle (such as an image sensor or camera having a field of viewforward of the vehicle), whereby a processor is operable to process datacaptured by the sensor to determine a curvature of the road beingtraveled by the vehicle. The processor is operable to determine tangentsat locations along the determined curvature and, responsive to adetermination of the tangents, the processor generates an output to avehicle control. The control, responsive to the output, is operable toadjust the vehicle steering to guide the vehicle in a direction thatgenerally corresponds to a determined tangent at respective locations ofthe vehicle along the curved road. The processor may generate the outputat least in part responsive to at least one of a vehicle yaw rate, avehicle velocity and a vehicle lateral acceleration. The control mayadjust the vehicle steering to have a front wheel of the vehiclegenerally parallel to a tangent of the road at the end of the curvature,whereby the vehicle is traveling substantially straight along the roadfollowing the road curvature.

These and other objects, advantages, purposes and features of thepresent invention will become apparent upon review of the followingspecification in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle with a vision system thatincorporates cameras in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic of a vehicle driving direction along a tangent ofa curve in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the adaptive wheel angle correction systemof the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an adaptive wheel angle correctionalgorithm used by the system of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A vehicle vision system and/or driver assist system and/or objectdetection system and/or alert system and/or control system operates tocapture images exterior of the vehicle and may process the capturedimage data to display images and to detect objects at or near thevehicle and in the predicted path of the vehicle, such as to assist adriver of the vehicle in maneuvering the vehicle in a rearward orforward direction. The vision system includes an image processor orimage processing system that is operable to receive image data from oneor more cameras and provide an output to a display device for displayingimages representative of the captured image data. Optionally, the visionsystem may provide a top down or bird's eye or surround view display andmay provide a displayed image that is representative of the subjectvehicle, and optionally with the displayed image being customized to atleast partially correspond to the actual subject vehicle.

Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depictedtherein, a vehicle 10 includes an imaging system or vision system 12that includes at least one exterior facing imaging sensor or camera,such as a rearward facing imaging sensor or camera 14 a (and the systemmay optionally include multiple exterior facing imaging sensors orcameras, such as a forwardly facing camera 14 b at the front (or at thewindshield) of the vehicle, and a sidewardly/rearwardly facing camera 14c, 14 d at respective sides of the vehicle), which captures imagesexterior of the vehicle, with the camera having a lens for focusingimages at or onto an imaging array or imaging plane or imager of thecamera (FIG. 1). Optionally, a forward viewing camera may be disposed atthe windshield of the vehicle and view through the windshield andforward of the vehicle, such as for a machine vision system (such as fortraffic sign recognition, headlamp control, pedestrian detection,collision avoidance, lane marker detection and/or the like). The visionsystem 12 includes a control or electronic control unit (ECU) orprocessor 18 that is operable to process image data captured by thecamera or cameras and may detect objects or the like and/or providedisplayed images at a display device 16 for viewing by the driver of thevehicle (although shown in FIG. 1 as being part of or incorporated in orat an interior rearview mirror assembly 20 of the vehicle, the controland/or the display device may be disposed elsewhere at or in thevehicle). The data transfer or signal communication from the camera tothe ECU may comprise any suitable data or communication link, such as avehicle network bus or the like of the equipped vehicle.

The system of the present invention determines a lane of travel ahead ofthe vehicle (such as be determining lane markers or the like) andadjusts the steering of the vehicle to guide or steer the vehicle alonga curvature of the lane. The lane keeping algorithm of the presentinvention applies a correction (such as a torque to the steeringmechanism) to keep the vehicle within the determined lane boundaries.After the correction has been applied (to guide the vehicle along thecurvature), there is a residual wheel angle (even after the vehicle hastraversed through the curved path and is at a straight or straightersection of road after the curved section of road), which causes thevehicle to cross the center line of the lane. The present inventionprovides an algorithm that determines a wheel angle correction such thatthe wheel angle is corrected such that the vehicle is parallel to atangent of the road curvature (such that, at the end of the maneuver thevehicle has zero lateral acceleration, and zero lateral velocity). Forexample, FIG. 2 shows the tangents at points along a curved section ofroad.

As shown in FIG. 3, the system may receive signals pertaining to vehiclevelocity, yaw rate and lateral acceleration, and may determine laneparameters, such as curvature, a curvature derivative heading andposition with respect to the vehicle. The signals are conditioned and/orfiltered and/or validated and then fed to the algorithm, whichdetermines the degree of adjustment or steering to apply to the vehicleto guide or steer the vehicle along the curve and within the laneboundaries. The system may determine the end of a lateral maneuver sothe algorithm can determine when to stop the processing. The lanekeeping controller, responsive to processing of the algorithm, isoperable to adjust the steering or apply a torque to adjust or steer thevehicle.

As shown in FIG. 4, the algorithm compares the lane curvature andheading estimation with the vehicle position estimation to determine alateral error and a vehicle wheel angle estimation (to steer the vehiclealong the curve in the road).

The system and algorithm may determine the lane markers or boundariesand lane curvature and relative vehicle position via any suitable means.For example, the system may determine the lane markers or boundaries andlane curvature and relative vehicle position via image processing ofimage data captured by a forward viewing camera of the vehicle (andoptionally one or more other cameras or sensors of the vehicle, such asa rearward viewing camera and/or sideward viewing cameras or the like).The system may determine the curvature of the lane in which the vehicleis traveling by utilizing aspects of the systems described in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/663,502, filed Mar. 20, 2015 andpublished Sep. 24, 2015 as U.S. Publication No. US-2015-0266422, whichis hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The camera or sensor may comprise any suitable camera or sensor.Optionally, the camera may comprise a “smart camera” that includes theimaging sensor array and associated circuitry and image processingcircuitry and electrical connectors and the like as part of a cameramodule, such as by utilizing aspects of the vision systems described inInternational Publication Nos. WO 2013/081984 and/or WO 2013/081985,which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The system includes an image processor operable to process image datacaptured by the camera or cameras, such as for detecting objects orother vehicles or pedestrians or the like in the field of view of one ormore of the cameras. For example, the image processor may comprise anEYEQ2 or EYEQ3 image processing chip available from Mobileye VisionTechnologies Ltd. of Jerusalem, Israel, and may include object detectionsoftware (such as the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,855,755;7,720,580 and/or 7,038,577, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties), and may analyze image data to detectvehicles and/or other objects. Responsive to such image processing, andwhen an object or other vehicle is detected, the system may generate analert to the driver of the vehicle and/or may generate an overlay at thedisplayed image to highlight or enhance display of the detected objector vehicle, in order to enhance the driver's awareness of the detectedobject or vehicle or hazardous condition during a driving maneuver ofthe equipped vehicle.

The vehicle may include any type of sensor or sensors, such as imagingsensors or radar sensors or lidar sensors or ladar sensors or ultrasonicsensors or the like. The imaging sensor or camera may capture image datafor image processing and may comprise any suitable camera or sensingdevice, such as, for example, a two dimensional array of a plurality ofphotosensor elements arranged in at least 640 columns and 480 rows (atleast a 640×480 imaging array, such as a megapixel imaging array or thelike), with a respective lens focusing images onto respective portionsof the array. The photosensor array may comprise a plurality ofphotosensor elements arranged in a photosensor array having rows andcolumns. Preferably, the imaging array has at least 300,000 photosensorelements or pixels, more preferably at least 500,000 photosensorelements or pixels and more preferably at least 1 million photosensorelements or pixels. The imaging array may capture color image data, suchas via spectral filtering at the array, such as via an RGB (red, greenand blue) filter or via a red/red complement filter or such as via anRCC (red, clear, clear) filter or the like. The logic and controlcircuit of the imaging sensor may function in any known manner, and theimage processing and algorithmic processing may comprise any suitablemeans for processing the images and/or image data.

For example, the vision system and/or processing and/or camera and/orcircuitry may utilize aspects described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,005,974;5,760,962; 5,877,897; 5,796,094; 5,949,331; 6,222,447; 6,302,545;6,396,397; 6,498,620; 6,523,964; 6,611,202; 6,201,642; 6,690,268;6,717,610; 6,757,109; 6,802,617; 6,806,452; 6,822,563; 6,891,563;6,946,978; 7,859,565; 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 6,636,258; 7,145,519;7,161,616; 7,230,640; 7,248,283; 7,295,229; 7,301,466; 7,592,928;7,881,496; 7,720,580; 7,038,577; 6,882,287; 5,929,786 and/or 5,786,772,and/or International Publication Nos. WO 2011/028686; WO 2010/099416; WO2012/061567; WO 2012/068331; WO 2012/075250; WO 2012/103193; WO2012/0116043; WO 2012/0145313; WO 2012/0145501; WO 2012/145818; WO2012/145822; WO 2012/158167; WO 2012/075250; WO 2012/0116043; WO2012/0145501; WO 2012/154919; WO 2013/019707; WO 2013/016409; WO2013/019795; WO 2013/067083; WO 2013/070539; WO 2013/043661; WO2013/048994; WO 2013/063014, WO 2013/081984; WO 2013/081985; WO2013/074604; WO 2013/086249; WO 2013/103548; WO 2013/109869; WO2013/123161; WO 2013/126715; WO 2013/043661 and/or WO 2013/158592, whichare all hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Thesystem may communicate with other communication systems via any suitablemeans, such as by utilizing aspects of the systems described inInternational Publication Nos. WO/2010/144900; WO 2013/043661 and/or WO2013/081985, and/or U.S. Publication No. US-2012-0062743, which arehereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The imaging device and control and image processor and any associatedillumination source, if applicable, may comprise any suitablecomponents, and may utilize aspects of the cameras and vision systemsdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,877,897; 6,498,620; 5,670,935;5,796,094; 6,396,397; 6,806,452; 6,690,268; 7,005,974; 7,937,667;7,123,168; 7,004,606; 6,946,978; 7,038,577; 6,353,392; 6,320,176;6,313,454 and/or 6,824,281, and/or International Publication Nos. WO2010/099416; WO 2011/028686 and/or WO 2013/016409, and/or U.S. Pat.Publication No. US 2010-0020170, which are all hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties. The camera or cameras maycomprise any suitable cameras or imaging sensors or camera modules, andmay utilize aspects of the cameras or sensors described in U.S.Publication No. US-2009-0244361 and/or U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,542,451;7,965,336 and/or 7,480,149, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties. The imaging array sensor may comprise anysuitable sensor, and may utilize various imaging sensors or imagingarray sensors or cameras or the like, such as a CMOS imaging arraysensor, a CCD sensor or other sensors or the like, such as the typesdescribed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 5,760,962; 5,715,093;5,877,897; 6,922,292; 6,757,109; 6,717,610; 6,590,719; 6,201,642;6,498,620; 5,796,094; 6,097,023; 6,320,176; 6,559,435; 6,831,261;6,806,452; 6,396,397; 6,822,563; 6,946,978; 7,339,149; 7,038,577;7,004,606; 7,720,580 and/or 7,965,336, and/or International PublicationNos. WO/2009/036176 and/or WO/2009/046268, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

The camera module and circuit chip or board and imaging sensor may beimplemented and operated in connection with various vehicularvision-based systems, and/or may be operable utilizing the principles ofsuch other vehicular systems, such as a vehicle headlamp control system,such as the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,796,094; 6,097,023;6,320,176; 6,559,435; 6,831,261; 7,004,606; 7,339,149 and/or 7,526,103,which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties, a rain sensor, such as the types disclosed in commonlyassigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,353,392; 6,313,454; 6,320,176 and/or7,480,149, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties, a vehicle vision system, such as a forwardly, sidewardly orrearwardly directed vehicle vision system utilizing principles disclosedin U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,677; 5,670,935; 5,760,962; 5,877,897; 5,949,331;6,222,447; 6,302,545; 6,396,397; 6,498,620; 6,523,964; 6,611,202;6,201,642; 6,690,268; 6,717,610; 6,757,109; 6,802,617; 6,806,452;6,822,563; 6,891,563; 6,946,978 and/or 7,859,565, which are all herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties, a trailer hitchingaid or tow check system, such as the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.7,005,974, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety, a reverse or sideward imaging system, such as for a lanechange assistance system or lane departure warning system or for a blindspot or object detection system, such as imaging or detection systems ofthe types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,881,496; 7,720,580; 7,038,577;5,929,786 and/or 5,786,772, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, a video device for internal cabinsurveillance and/or video telephone function, such as disclosed in U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,760,962; 5,877,897; 6,690,268 and/or 7,370,983, and/or U.S.Publication No. US-2006-0050018, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, a traffic sign recognition system, asystem for determining a distance to a leading or trailing vehicle orobject, such as a system utilizing the principles disclosed in U.S. Pat.Nos. 6,396,397 and/or 7,123,168, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties, and/or the like.

Optionally, the circuit board or chip may include circuitry for theimaging array sensor and or other electronic accessories or features,such as by utilizing compass-on-a-chip or EC driver-on-a-chip technologyand aspects such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,255,451 and/or7,480,149, and/or U.S. Publication No. US-2006-0061008, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, the vision system may include a display for displayingimages captured by one or more of the imaging sensors for viewing by thedriver of the vehicle while the driver is normally operating thevehicle. Optionally, for example, the vision system may include a videodisplay device disposed at or in the interior rearview mirror assemblyof the vehicle, such as by utilizing aspects of the video mirror displaysystems described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,690,268 and/or U.S. Publication No.US-2012-0162427, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties. The video mirror display may comprise any suitabledevices and systems and optionally may utilize aspects of the compassdisplay systems described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,370,983; 7,329,013;7,308,341; 7,289,037; 7,249,860; 7,004,593; 4,546,551; 5,699,044;4,953,305; 5,576,687; 5,632,092; 5,677,851; 5,708,410; 5,737,226;5,802,727; 5,878,370; 6,087,953; 6,173,508; 6,222,460; 6,513,252 and/or6,642,851, and/or European patent application, published Oct. 11, 2000under Publication No. EP 0 1043566, and/or U.S. Publication No.US-2006-0061008, which are all hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entireties. Optionally, the video mirror display screen ordevice may be operable to display images captured by a rearward viewingcamera of the vehicle during a reversing maneuver of the vehicle (suchas responsive to the vehicle gear actuator being placed in a reversegear position or the like) to assist the driver in backing up thevehicle, and optionally may be operable to display the compass headingor directional heading character or icon when the vehicle is notundertaking a reversing maneuver, such as when the vehicle is beingdriven in a forward direction along a road (such as by utilizing aspectsof the display system described in International Publication No. WO2012/051500, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety).

Optionally, the vision system (utilizing the forward facing camera and arearward facing camera and other cameras disposed at the vehicle withexterior fields of view) may be part of or may provide a display of atop-down view or birds-eye view system of the vehicle or a surround viewat the vehicle, such as by utilizing aspects of the vision systemsdescribed in International Publication Nos. WO 2010/099416; WO2011/028686; WO 2012/075250; WO 2013/019795; WO 2012/075250; WO2012/145822; WO 2013/081985; WO 2013/086249 and/or WO 2013/109869,and/or U.S. Publication No. US-2012-0162427, which are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Optionally, a video mirror display may be disposed rearward of andbehind the reflective element assembly and may comprise a display suchas the types disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,240; 6,329,925;7,855,755; 7,626,749; 7,581,859; 7,446,650; 7,370,983; 7,338,177;7,274,501; 7,255,451; 7,195,381; 7,184,190; 5,668,663; 5,724,187 and/or6,690,268, and/or in U.S. Publication Nos. US-2006-0061008 and/orUS-2006-0050018, which are all hereby incorporated herein by referencein their entireties. The display is viewable through the reflectiveelement when the display is activated to display information. Thedisplay element may be any type of display element, such as a vacuumfluorescent (VF) display element, a light emitting diode (LED) displayelement, such as an organic light emitting diode (OLED) or an inorganiclight emitting diode, an electroluminescent (EL) display element, aliquid crystal display (LCD) element, a video screen display element orbacklit thin film transistor (TFT) display element or the like, and maybe operable to display various information (as discrete characters,icons or the like, or in a multi-pixel manner) to the driver of thevehicle, such as passenger side inflatable restraint (PSIR) information,tire pressure status, and/or the like. The mirror assembly and/ordisplay may utilize aspects described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,184,190;7,255,451; 7,446,924 and/or 7,338,177, which are all hereby incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties. The thicknesses and materialsof the coatings on the substrates of the reflective element may beselected to provide a desired color or tint to the mirror reflectiveelement, such as a blue colored reflector, such as is known in the artand such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,910,854; 6,420,036 and/or7,274,501, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

Optionally, the display or displays and any associated user inputs maybe associated with various accessories or systems, such as, for example,a tire pressure monitoring system or a passenger air bag status or agarage door opening system or a telematics system or any other accessoryor system of the mirror assembly or of the vehicle or of an accessorymodule or console of the vehicle, such as an accessory module or consoleof the types described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,289,037; 6,877,888;6,824,281; 6,690,268; 6,672,744; 6,386,742 and/or 6,124,886, and/or U.S.Publication No. US-2006-0050018, which are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments canbe carried out without departing from the principles of the invention,which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appendedclaims, as interpreted according to the principles of patent lawincluding the doctrine of equivalents.

1. A vehicular control system, said vehicular control system comprising:a forward viewing camera disposed at an interior-cabin side of awindshield of a vehicle equipped with said vehicular control system andhaving a field of view through the windshield exterior and forward ofthe equipped vehicle; said camera comprising at least 1 millionphotosensor elements arranged in a two-dimensional photosensor arrayhaving rows and columns; a control comprising an image processoroperable to process image data captured by said camera; wherein saidimage processor processes image data captured by said camera todetermine road curvature of a curved section of a road being traveled bythe equipped vehicle; wherein, based on the determined road curvature,said control determines tangents to the determined road curvature alongthe curved section of the road; and wherein said control steers theequipped vehicle along the curved section of the road by adjustingsteering of the equipped vehicle to follow the determined tangents tothe determined road curvature as the equipped vehicle moves along thecurved section of the road.
 2. The vehicular control system of claim 1,wherein said control adjusts steering of the equipped vehicle to have awheel of the equipped vehicle parallel to a determined tangent to thedetermined road curvature as the equipped vehicle moves along the curvedsection of the road.
 3. The vehicular control system of claim 1, whereinsaid control adjusts steering of the equipped vehicle to have a frontwheel of the equipped vehicle parallel to a determined tangent to thedetermined road curvature as the equipped vehicle moves along the curvedsection of the road.
 4. The vehicular control system of claim 1, whereinsaid control determines trajectory of the equipped vehicle at least inpart responsive to (i) velocity of the equipped vehicle and (ii) yawrate of the equipped vehicle.
 5. The vehicular control system of claim4, wherein determination of the trajectory comprise generation of aheading of the equipped vehicle.
 6. The vehicular control system ofclaim 1, wherein said image processor processes image data captured bysaid camera to determine lane boundaries of a traffic lane occupied bythe equipped vehicle as the equipped vehicle moves along the curvedsection of the road.
 7. The vehicular control system of claim 6, whereinsaid control, at least in part responsive to processing by said imageprocessor of captured image data, maintains the equipped vehicle withinthe determined lane boundaries of the traffic lane.
 8. The vehicularcontrol system of claim 7, wherein said control applies a steeringcorrection to maintain the equipped vehicle within the determined laneboundaries of the traffic lane.
 9. The vehicular control system of claim8, wherein the steering correction comprises a torque applied to asteering mechanism of the equipped vehicle.
 10. The vehicular controlsystem of claim 1, wherein said control, responsive at least in part toprocessing by said image processor of captured image data, determines anend of the curved section of the road where the road straightens, andwherein said control, responsive to determination that the equippedvehicle is at the end of the curved section of the road where the roadstraightens, adjusts steering of the equipped vehicle such that theequipped vehicle travels parallel to a tangent of the road after theequipped vehicle has traversed the curved section of the road and is ata straight section of the road.
 11. The vehicular control system ofclaim 10, wherein, after the equipped vehicle has traversed the curvedsection and is at the straight section of the road, the equipped vehiclehas zero lateral acceleration and zero lateral velocity.
 12. Thevehicular control system of claim 1, wherein said image processorprocesses captured image data to detect at least one selected from thegroup consisting of (i) an object present in the field of view of saidcamera, (ii) a vehicle present in the field of view of said camera and(iii) a pedestrian present in the field of view of said camera.
 13. Thevehicular control system of claim 1, wherein said image processorprocesses image data captured by said camera for at least one selectedfrom the group consisting of (i) a vehicle headlamp control system ofthe equipped vehicle, (ii) a pedestrian detection system of the equippedvehicle, (iii) a collision avoidance system of the equipped vehicle and(iv) a traffic sign recognition system of the equipped vehicle.
 14. Avehicular control system, said vehicular control system comprising: aforward viewing camera disposed at an interior-cabin side of awindshield of a vehicle equipped with said vehicular control system andhaving a field of view through the windshield exterior and forward ofthe equipped vehicle; said camera comprising at least 1 millionphotosensor elements arranged in a two-dimensional photosensor arrayhaving rows and columns; a control comprising an image processoroperable to process image data captured by said camera; wherein saidimage processor processes image data captured by said camera todetermine road curvature of a curved section of a road being traveled bythe equipped vehicle; wherein said image processor processes image datacaptured by said camera to determine lane boundaries of a traffic laneoccupied by the equipped vehicle as the equipped vehicle moves along thecurved section of the road; wherein, based on the determined roadcurvature, said control determines tangents to the determined roadcurvature along the curved section of the road; wherein said controlsteers the equipped vehicle along the curved section of the road byadjusting steering of the equipped vehicle to follow the determinedtangents to the determined road curvature as the equipped vehicle movesalong the curved section of the road; wherein said control, at least inpart responsive to processing by said image processor of captured imagedata, maintains the equipped vehicle within the determined laneboundaries of the traffic lane as the equipped vehicle moves along thecurved section of the road; wherein said control applies a steeringcorrection to maintain the equipped vehicle within the determined laneboundaries of the traffic lane as the equipped vehicle moves along thecurved section of the road; and wherein said control, responsive atleast in part to processing by said image processor of captured imagedata, determines an end of the curved section of the road where the roadstraightens, and wherein said control, responsive to determination thatthe equipped vehicle is at the end of the curved section of the roadwhere the road straightens, adjusts steering of the equipped vehiclesuch that the equipped vehicle travels parallel to a tangent of the roadafter the equipped vehicle has traversed the curved section of the roadand is at a straight section of the road.
 15. The vehicular controlsystem of claim 14, wherein said control adjusts steering of theequipped vehicle to have a wheel of the equipped vehicle parallel to adetermined tangent to the determined road curvature as the equippedvehicle moves along the curved section of the road.
 16. The vehicularcontrol system of claim 14, wherein the steering correction comprises atorque applied to a steering mechanism of the equipped vehicle.
 17. Thevehicular control system of claim 14, wherein, after the equippedvehicle has traversed the curved section and is at the straight sectionof the road, the equipped vehicle has zero lateral acceleration and zerolateral velocity.
 18. A vehicular control system, said vehicular controlsystem comprising: a forward viewing camera disposed at aninterior-cabin side of a windshield of a vehicle equipped with saidvehicular control system and having a field of view through thewindshield exterior and forward of the equipped vehicle; said cameracomprising at least 1 million photosensor elements arranged in atwo-dimensional photosensor array having rows and columns; a controlcomprising an image processor operable to process image data captured bysaid camera; wherein said image processor processes image data capturedby said camera to determine road curvature of a curved section of a roadbeing traveled by the equipped vehicle; wherein, based on the determinedroad curvature, said control determines tangents to the determined roadcurvature along the curved section of the road; wherein said controlsteers the equipped vehicle along the curved section of the road byadjusting steering of the equipped vehicle to follow the determinedtangents to the determined road curvature as the equipped vehicle movesalong the curved section of the road; wherein said control, responsiveat least in part to processing by said image processor of captured imagedata, determines an end of the curved section of the road where the roadstraightens, and wherein said control adjusts steering of the equippedvehicle such that the equipped vehicle travels parallel to a tangent ofthe road after the equipped vehicle has traversed the curved section ofthe road and is at a straight section of the road; and wherein saidimage processor processes image data captured by said camera for atleast one selected from the group consisting of (i) a vehicle headlampcontrol system of the equipped vehicle, (ii) a pedestrian detectionsystem of the equipped vehicle, (iii) a collision avoidance system ofthe equipped vehicle and (iv) a traffic sign recognition system of theequipped vehicle.
 19. The vehicular control system of claim 18, whereinsaid control adjusts steering of the equipped vehicle to have a wheel ofthe equipped vehicle parallel to a determined tangent to the determinedroad curvature as the equipped vehicle moves along the curved section ofthe road.
 20. The vehicular control system of claim 18, wherein, afterthe equipped vehicle has traversed the curved section and is at thestraight section of the road, the equipped vehicle has zero lateralacceleration and zero lateral velocity.